Man arrested on kidnapping charges

A Hereford man was arrested on assault and kidnapping charges after police said he threatened to kill a 35-year-old man who owed him money.

Jose Almaraz, 27, was taken to the Deaf Smith County jail on Sunday on charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon, Hereford Police Chief Brent Harrison said. Almaraz remained there Wednesday in lieu of a $23,000 bond, a jail official said.

About 4:15 p.m. Sunday, the victim drove a 2006 Dodge minivan to Dameron Park to pick up some friends who weren’t there, authorities said. The man parked, and Almaraz opened the passenger-side sliding door, hopped in the back seat and threatened to kill the victim, police said.

The victim began driving erratically east in the 200 block of Park Avenue and headed south on McKinley Avenue, where he crashed into a stop sign, Harrison said. Witnesses told police Almaraz and the victim fled the van following the accident.

Officers found Almaraz a couple blocks away and recovered a 20-gauge sawedoff shotgun in a nearby trash bin, Harrison said. The victim was treated and released at a local hospital for injuries suffered in the accident, police said.

Harrison said the victim owed Almaraz money, and police are still investigating details surrounding the incident.

If convicted of the kidnapping and assault charges, both first-degree felonies, Almaraz could face five to 99 years or life in prison and pay up to a $10,000 fine each. The weapons charge, a third-degree felony, carries a maximum punishment of up to 10 years in prison.